Over the course of the next week we made and sold as much as we could, while occasionally having to defend the storage shed, earning more than enough to buy a truck and all the necessary supplies, from armor to ammunition. The suppressors and the bribe were out of our price range though, as we needed what little we'd scraped together for the information broker, who turned out to have two types of information.

The first ranged from guesses based on hearsay which was less expensive but also much less accurate, hence the players saying it was all a scam, and actual information obtained via organization leaks, blackmail, and a host of other methods. At the end of it all we were left with just over two thousand credits, enough to take care of any last minute issues, one of which included hiring a random player to guard the storage shed, as we'd found out the hard way that NPCs could raid and steal from properties, though personal items were left alone. We'd lost a whole shipment of weapon parts that way and we didn't want to take that risk again.

It wasn't a cheap solution, but the player we'd hired was more than happy to sit inside the workshop and listen to music while doing little else, all for five hundred credits.

As it turned out, the warehouse we were after was located in the most southwest part of Bastion, situated fairly close to the wall itself. The truck we used to get there was self driving, a feature that was implemented for all those who either couldn't drive or weren't good enough to drive safely. There was an option to drive manually that could only be used outside the city, though things like tanks and other such heavy vehicles were only manually operable, confirmed by a developer to be the case regardless of the area you were in.

We stopped the truck around three blocks away, moving through alleys and up onto the roof of a building that sat across from the target warehouse. It was surrounded by a chain link fence with barbed wire wrapped around the top. The only entrance that was visible from our position was a sliding gate, manned by an NPC who sat in a tiny booth, flipping a coin repeatedly out of boredom.

AZTea noted a corner near the back that didn't seem to have anyone patrolling that she could see, heading down to the ground to check, staying low as she moved across the street. Jolly on the other hand was trying to keep track of each guard he saw, noting that the patrol routes didn't seem to change. I, on the other hand, was looking for weaknesses that could help us get inside the building.

The only set of binoculars I'd been able to find were broken on one side, forcing me to cover one eye while using them. The only door I saw from my current vantage point had a keycard reader, and not a single NPC entered or exited so far.

The only other thing I'd seen that could potentially be exploited was a skylight that was just barely visible on the far side of the rooftop, though I wasn't sure a grappling hook would get us up there unnoticed, so I ruled that option out unless we killed everyone. Finally, there was always the third option that I liked to call 'plan loud.' With enough explosives we'd be able to just waltz right in, though Bastion guards would probably swarm the area in a matter of minutes.

"I'm seeing maybe five guards outside. Probably double that amount inside the building. Maybe a flashbang type entrance like some of the military shooter games?" Jolly was scratching his head, his shoes crunching against some loose pebbles as he shifted his weight. I nodded, figuring that a flashbang or concussion grenade might be enough to disorient whoever was inside long enough for us to take them out.

"Since we couldn't get away with keeping this entirely quiet, I'd say our knives will be the trick for taking care of the outside forces. That means quick, quiet, and clean kills." As I spoke I absentmindedly rubbed the virtual portion of my right leg, not certain if I could still move quietly enough to sneak up behind someone. My prosthetic certainly didn't allow for it.

"You okay?" Jolly noticed the movement and I pulled my arm back, nodding. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing. Any guesses as to what we'll be looking at when we get inside?" I tried steering things back in the direction of the warhouse, not wanting to get into the matter of my missing leg.

"I've got a buddy who works as a foreman at a construction site, and when I visited him a few times, it was always catwalks and scaffolding. My best guess is we'll see some shelving, maybe a catwalk or two while a main office either overlooks the whole thing, or sits near the back. No way for me to be sure though." Jolly turned his attention back to the building across from us, letting the discussion shift without a fuss.

I knit my brows in concentration as I tried to envision a general layout of the building, though I wasn't getting very far. The windows were dirty enough that I couldn't see inside, so imagination was all I had to go off of.

"Okay so I'm only guessing here, but as we get inside I'm thinking there'll be a catwalk above us, probably with a guy walking back and forth to keep an eye on everything while most others will be on the ground floor. Might also be another guy in the office, wherever that is. So a flashbang might only be effective on the ground floor, leaving the guys up top free to fire down at us as we come in. We might need to get into that skylight after all." I had to force myself not to mutter, slowly working through the problem as various hypothetical plans failed or got far enough that they almost succeeded.

"In turn, that means that if we do anything here it's going to have to be a near silent operation for the outside. Once we're inside, I think finishing things off quickly will be our best bet." I didn't even realize it when I started speaking out loud. "We'll have enough ammunition for a quick battle, so we won't be able to stay long. We'll need the truck nearby in case things go bad, but not too close. Bastion's guards will come down on us like a hammer if we stay for too long, so whatever we do inside has to be fast. We each pick targets and then execute whatever strategy we come up with. Breaching and clearing seems like the best option for this." As I finished those thoughts, I realized AZTea was already back on the roof with us, and both of them were looking at me.

"Does he do that often?" Jolly just stared at me as he asked the question. "I guess so? Never did it when I was around before." She shrugged as she squeezed her way back in between us. "Anyways, the far right corner doesn't have anyone patrolling the area, so I think if we get some bolt cutters or something to deal with the barbed wire, we should be able to get inside without being seen." She unwrapped a piece of hard candy, putting it in her mouth while shoving the wrapper back in a pocket.

It didn't take long after that for us to get out of the area. Instead of bolt cutters, I managed to get a hold of a cheap cutting torch with an internal fuel cell, along with three flashbangs from the ramen shop serving as a front for an illegal arms dealing NPC, and three newer, sharper, and shinier combat knives, all for roughly four hundred credits. We even got some rope.

As for the grappling hook, we just went back to the storage shed, bending some weapon parts and welding them together.

The truck took us back to the warehouse, rattling every time we had to take a turn until we were less than a block away from the building.

Each of us sat in the truck just checking the Sten guns and the magazines, also making sure the rest of our gear would hold up. Jolly had two duffle bags on him while AZTea and I were only bringing one each. AZTea and I would act as the infiltrators for the outside while Jolly was going to bring the truck in once we were finished. He would also be serving as backup in case things went bad and we needed to bail on the mission.

"We all know our jobs, yeah? We get to the fence, cut through, and kill everyone outside without being seen or heard. That part is crucial if we want this to go well. Once that's done, we bring the truck in through the gate and get onto the roof. After that we go down through the skylight, killing everyone inside as fast as possible. AZTea, you'll be getting the door open for Jolly once we're done in there." She nodded at her assigned role, pulling the slide back on her SMG and letting it go.

"If we find any weapons in there, we take them as loot. As for explosives, we use those to damage anything we can't take with us. We're in and out in under ten minutes. The armor we bought should protect us against small caliber weapons, but don't rely on it for everything. If we have to shoot our way out of here, we'll be in much hotter water than if we don't, so make sure you're fast above all else. Jolly, open up your messages and keep an eye on them. We'll message you when it's time to bring the truck in." He gave me a thumbs up and leaned back in his seat. AZTea and I left the truck, moving quickly along the sidewalk.

Things were quiet at this time of night, and the few NPCs that were still out and about quickly disappeared whenever they spotted us. I just had to hope that we wouldn't be reported before even beginning.

I let AZTea take the lead, her familiarity with the immediate area serving better than mine did as we stalked through the shadows across the street, out of sight of any of the guards. My clothes rippled a bit as a breeze passed us by, though I'd tucked everything in so as not to make much noise. It barely helped.

Once at the blindspot of the fence I watched her pull out the cutting torch and got to work, the light intense but not blinding. How it didn't alert anyone was beyond me as I tensed up, waiting for a shout of alarm that never came. When she finished cutting, I pulled out my new knife, grabbing the now unattached piece of fencing and pulling it aside.

AZTea went inside with no hesitation, one hand putting the torch away while the other unsheathed her own knife. I had to take a deep breath before doing the same, my heart feeling as if it were in my throat.

We'd talked about how we would do things as we got the flashbangs. I would take care of the front area where three guards were stationed while AZTea would take care of the rear guards, so she knew their positioning better than I did.

My first target was a guard who walked just on the side of the warehouse, a shipping container blocking his line of sight from the fence. I stared unblinking at him as he walked toward me without seeing me hiding in the shadows, waiting for things to go wrong. He stopped and sniffled a bit, readjusting his thigh holster before turning back around to walk the other way.

I didn't bother crouching as it always hindered my footsteps when being quiet in the past. Instead I stepped with the heel of my foot rolling down onto the rest of it, the sound almost inaudible amidst the distant noises of the night. I simply walked up behind the man, grabbed him by the mouth, and cut deep into his throat with my knife, avoiding the trachea to instead focus on the sides where the arteries were. He struggled a bit but was silent when I jabbed the rest of the knife deep into the side of his neck, turning him into fragments of light instantly.

One down, two more to go. Time is of the essence. Move.

My second target was a guard sitting on a stack of pallets near an industrial door big enough to fit a large van, a rifle held lazily against his chest. His back was turned to me and he was smoking a cigarette, letting out small puffs of it into the night air. He didn't even notice me as I walked up behind him, standing just a little bit to the side with the pallets in the way. I leaned over and covered his mouth, jamming the blade through his neck before he could struggle too much, twisting the blade and yanking it back out. He died without even being able to struggle, his rifle clattering to the ground.

It was one of the same ones I'd seen the guards at the docks using before the enemy aircraft had started strafing everything. I grabbed it and stuffed it inside my bag while walking toward the last guard, still sitting inside the gatehouse. At this point my knife was clenched in my hand as if I was some sort of serial killer. I didn't even bother being too quiet about it this time. I just walked inside and stabbed him to death before he could grab his gun from its holster. It wasn't very clean, but I didn't care at the moment. It felt good to let out a little retribution for having been attacked the first time.

I sent the message to Jolly as soon as AZTea appeared out front, opening the gate by pressing a button helpfully labeled 'open.' The gate rattled a bit as it slid to the side while AZTea attempted to throw the grappling hook up to the roof, while I watched for signs of our truck. It came around the corner a few moments later, the telltale rattling noise as it turned to drive in, the clattering noise of metal getting stuck on something ringing out behind me.

I looked over and AZTea was already beginning her ascent. The truck drove into the lot and Jolly got out, Sten loaded and ready. I nodded once to him as I jogged over to the rope and began hauling myself up, using my legs to brace myself against the brick wall.

A hand reached over the edge as I got to the top, pulling me up onto the roof, AZTea then taking the grappling hook and unhooking it so we could use it again to go in through the skylight.

Inside the building I could see a catwalk fixed to the sides of the building, stairs on opposite sides leading down to the ground floor where four guards were talking with each other. Two more patrolled along the catwalk, though whenever they met up they would stop for a little bit to chat. We saw nobody else inside, though it was possible that someone was hiding in the office that sat on the ground floor at the back of the building.

We slowly opened up the skylight by lifting one of the latches on the outside. AZTea aimed her Sten at the two on the catwalk, while I prepped a flashbang to drop down into the midst of the guards below. The grappling hook sat snug on the lip of the skylight, the rope ready to be dropped down at a moment's notice.

I dropped the flashbang, and gunfire rang out next to me.